Letter from a imprisoned Zoroastrian citizen: Don't expect your citizenship rights to be respected

Karen Vafadari, an Iranian-American Zoroastrian citizen who was arrested in Iran along with her husband and sentenced to a long prison term, has written in a letter to her co-religionists that they should not expect their citizenship rights to be respected by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In a letter from this Zoroastrian citizen, published on Tuesday, February 1, by the Center for Human Rights Defenders, Mr. Vafadari described the process of his and his wife's arrest and conviction, and wrote to his co-religionists not to think that they are allowed to keep wine and hold mixed ceremonies in the Islamic Republic because they are not Muslims.

Karen Vafadari is the daughter of a wealthy Zoroastrian family, and the Firouzgar Hospital is one of the Vafadari family assets that has been dedicated to the Iranian community. Before her arrest, she had filed numerous lawsuits and pursued many cases in order to reclaim some of her family's inherited property, which led to her and her husband, Afarin Nissari, being arrested in August 2016.

Mr. Vafadari was ultimately sentenced to 27 years in prison, confiscation of all property, and whipping following a trial held in December of this year, presided over by Judge Salavati, and his wife was also sentenced to 16 years in prison.

He wrote in his letter that because of his wife's work connections at the art gallery with outside Iran, the IRGC intelligence arrested them on security charges, but the charges were dropped after the gallery submitted permits to the Ministry of Religious Affairs. However, "the sealing, confiscation and search of the house, offices, gallery, warehouses, cars, computers, documents and other things were the precursors to more extensive accusations and interrogations that indicated a more complex plan."

He went on to write to his fellow believers with some advice to avoid their fate.

He wrote: “First of all, I do not recommend that you produce wine at home. Even though I thought this was okay for Zoroastrian minorities, who have had wine in their culture for over 5,000 years, I was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, 74 lashes, and a fine of 140 million tomans.”

The Zoroastrian continued his letter: "Please do not accept alcoholic beverages as gifts from friends and foreign diplomats, even if they have imported the alcoholic beverages into the country through legal and official customs channels. Because, like me, it can result in three years in prison and a fine of 6 billion rials for you."

He also referred to the mixed parties that the Zoroastrian community in Iran is permitted to hold by the Ministry of Religious Affairs for various cultural and religious occasions, and wrote: "Thirdly, I ask my dear co-religionists to be cautious for the sake of yourselves and your families during the happy days near the New Year, because holding mixed parties (which is a simple and obvious thing for us) even for national celebrations and events, including Chaharshanbeh Suri, the Centennial Celebration, and even birthday celebrations, is considered by the country's judicial system to be promoting debauchery and, like me, you will face a sentence of 15 years in prison under the heading of 'spreading corruption and prostitution.'"

He continued his letter by writing: "In addition, I am honored by the honorable court that, as the first Iranian, Article 989 of the Civil Code enacted in 1924 has been applied to me."

Karen Vafadari explained: "For the first time in the judicial history of Iran, I have been convicted under Article 989 of the Civil Code, which was drafted in 1924. Unfortunately, no one, including me and our lawyer, was informed of such charges and we were unaware of such a law."

He continued in his letter: "This means that for me, for my wife, and for each of you dear Zoroastrian dual nationals who have returned to the country out of love for the homeland and for the purpose of investment, there is always the risk of losing property and assets and being forced to leave the country. As a result, being dual nationals is not only no longer considered a status for you fellow believers, but it will also carry the risk of applying the obsolete Article 989."

According to Article 989 of the Civil Code, any Iranian citizen who acquires foreign citizenship after 1280 AH without complying with legal regulations will no longer have his foreign citizenship and will be recognized as an Iranian citizen. However, all his immovable property will be sold under the supervision of the local public prosecutor, and after deducting the sale expenses, the price will be given to him.

The Zoroastrian citizen also wrote that a judicial officer said about the heavy sentence issued that it was for "stealing money from others." He advised his fellow believers not to expect help from the Zoroastrian representative in parliament if they received a heavy sentence for "stealing money from others."

Last year, Kate Vafadari, Karen Vafadari's sister, published a letter to the Leader of the Islamic Republic announcing the arrest of her brother and his brother-in-law.

In his letter, he wrote that the arrest of the two men was accompanied by “a cover-up for financial extortion, seizure of property, and security threats.” He also complained about “unknown” individuals attempting to “extort” the families of the two prisoners in exchange for their release.

Violation of the rights of religious minorities by the government is considered one of the human rights violations in the Islamic Republic.

The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran and the US State Department have reported in recent years on violations of the rights of religious minorities such as Baha'is, Christians, Sunnis and others. Until now, there have been few reports of abuses and violations of the rights of Zoroastrians, but it seems that Mr. Vafadari's arrest and heavy sentence were more related to his pursuit of the return of their family property.

Source: Voice of America